The present composition, with notable differences, is based on Teniers' depiction of the Temptation of Saint Anthony of 1635 (16 1/8 x 12 5/8in. 41 x 32cm) in a private collection. Taking that painting's principal characters as the point of departure, the present work expands the design recalling the pictures of Tenier's mature Antwerp period of the mid-1640's. In these works Saint Anthony is again seen with a seductive woman but is also accompanied by everyday characters, some as personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins, which give the theme a new genre content (see M. Klinge in the catalogue of the exhibition David Teniers de Jonge, Antwerp, May 11-Sept, 1991, p. 46, no. 9).